Recent Headlines

“Ultimately, it's a matter of political will, not just available resources.”

Commentators on current issues seem to provide that analysis for stalled action or the shortcomings of projects on the global, national and local levels. Examples of the failure of political will in all these arenas come daily, wearying the spirit and testing hope for a better future.

How welcome, then, were two recent pieces in the Express-News (Naoko Shirane a true S.A. friend,” Another View, July 12; and “Young people grapple with global issues,” Metro, July 14). One was about a compassionate ambassador, and the other was a feature on the Youth Leadership Summit of the 57th Sister Cities International Conference, where young delegates engaged in global problem-solving through informed, direct participation. The column and story made clear the short- and long-term benefits that result when the political will of leaders and the community focus on the common good.

On July 11, as well, San Antonio and Kumamoto representatives formally commemorated the 25th Anniversary of their Sister City relationship. The people of San Antonio had another true friend in the late Yasumoto Tajiri, Kumamoto mayor during the formative years of the agreement. As a youth, Tajiri saw firsthand, in the struggles of his widowed mother to provide for the family, the devastating impact of international economic depression and a global war rooted in mutual ignorance and distrust.

While mayor of Kumamoto and then as a private citizen, he committed political will and resources to exchanges of university and high school students, junior high baseball players, medical society representatives, women's delegations, musicians, small-business owners and government officials, to name a few.

For the people of San Antonio unable to travel to Kumamoto, Mayor Tajiri supported the construction of the Kumamoto En Japanese Garden at the San Antonio Botanical Garden and a weeklong 1989 Kumamoto Fair that brought Kumamoto products, artisans, musicians and even a miniature Kumamoto Castle to downtown San Antonio.

Building on this foundation of a vibrant Sister City agreement that touched many lives, I count on the creative leadership of our Mayor Julián Castro and Kumamoto's Mayor Seishi Kohyama to exert the political will to make the Sister City ties relevant and wide-reaching in our times, and I commit my active support as well.